Venturing into the world of tight parking spaces and crazy minivan moms, Trader Joe’s offers a wide variety of snack foods. Setting out on a quest, I tried 15 snacks to see if they were a certified buss or a bust.  

1. Rosemary Croissant Croutons. While some may say croutons aren’t a snack, these ones should count. These flaky, croissant-like croutons were buttery, airy, and very flavorful with many well-chosen seasonings. They were great for salads, had a fantastic crunch and had a satisfying texture. They also worked just eating them straight out of the bag. These croutons were a certified buss. 
2. Strawberry Soft Licorice Twists. These strawberry twists were a spectacular, fruity snack that can serve as both an appetite pleaser and a dessert. While the texture was harder than normal, they tasted far more authentic and didn’t have that synthetic taste that other licorice tends to have. These strawberry soft licorice twists are a certified buss. 
3. Many Things Snack Mix. This snack mix containing spicy and regular cereal squares (Chex), pretzels, peanuts, bread chips, and corn sticks tasted okay. The spicy Chex did not blend well with the other ingredients like the honey flavors of the peanuts and regular Chex nor with the saltiness of the pretzels and bread chips. Too many flavors were competing at once, and while I am a fan of sweet and spicy mixes, this snack mix just did not work, making it a bust. 
4. 4. Joe O’s Cereal Bars. These peanut butter cereal bars are a great midday snack. The mix of the sweet coating on the peanuts, the savory peanut butter and the added salt created a melting pot of flavors that tasted absolutely fantastic. These bars are a certified
5. PB&J Wafers and Dip. This snack pack pair included a raspberry jam dip and peanut butter filled wafers. While they tasted fine together, it was quite messy. The wafers broke apart the second I touched them, and even trying to dip them in the jam was difficult. While I eventually got a bite with both together, it was not ideal for something that should be convenient and quick to eat; after all it is a snack. These reasons lead me to say that these were a bust. 
6. Elote Corn Chip Dippers. These chips were some of the best things to ever touch my tongue. The ungodly amount of seasoning on these street corn inspired chips was perfect to satisfy my taste buds. They had a kick of chipotle and a hint of heat that pairs well with pico de gallo, guacamole and queso. Elote corn chip dippers are a certified buss. 
7. Roasted and Salted Whole Cashews. These were just plain and simple cashews. As a cashew fan, I loved the amount of salt included on these. They were a perfect, convenient snack that tasted great, making these a certified buss. 
8. Mini Cheese Sandwich Crackers. Mimicking the Ritz crackers with cheese filling, the Trader Joe’s version takes a more organic route. While not as salty as the generic brands, these offered a good cheese filling that did not taste like straight plastic. These addictive crackers with filling are for sure a certified buss.  
9. These Sprinkles Walk into a Sandwich Cookies. These cookies that included a sprinkle filled crème filling tasted great. They had spectacular sweetness and cute decoration with the heavy number of sprinkles. However, they were very thick, crumbly, and far too hard to eat in one bite. Despite lacking in convenience and cleanliness, these were for sure a certified buss. 
10. Tiniest Chocolate Chip Cookies. These ultra-tiny cookies had the standard flavor of chocolate chip cookies and did taste well. However, they were boring and had no sense of uniqueness to them other than the fact that they were so small they could easily fall out of your hand. Because of this, these are a bust. 
11. Hold the Cone Mini Waffle Cone Tips. These viral waffle cone tips filled with delicious, smooth dark chocolate were a great snack and dessert. They were small enough to be convenient and they had a great crunch. These are a certified buss. 
12. Mini (Almost) Everything but the Bagel Sandwich Crackers with Cream Cheese Filling. These crackers were not the best. They had a very funky smell and texture to them. The cracker was crunchy and seasoned well but the poppy seeds baked into the cracker just didn’t work well. The filling tasted bad because they tried to replicate cream cheese which just isn’t possible to do in a processed filling. These were a bust. 
13. Everything but the Bagel Seasoned Bite Size Crackers. These chips, that stay on the everything bagel tasting route, were crunchy and offered quite a bit of flavor. Looking for a rebound from the everything crackers with filling, these did not carry the foul smell as the filling filled snack. Nonetheless, texture was again an issue as the poppy seeds were not well baked into the crackers and it just hurts your teeth, making it a bust. 
14. 14. Chili and Lime Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips. Trader Joes’ version of Takis pleasantly surprised me. They were spicy enough to fulfill the heat necessary for a hot chip, yet the lemon zest flavor was still tastefully evident and complimented it well. They were quite crispy, tangy and fit any situation where I needed a snack well, making it a certified buss. 
15. 15. Cinnabon Bun Joe-Joes. Trader Joes’ take on Oreos, Joe-Joes, are delicious as they are. But these limited-edition cinnamon bun flavored ones taste like heaven. The graham cracker taste of the cookies was delectable and harmonized with the sweet, churro-like crème filling well. These work well as both a snack and a dessert and they’re a certified buss.